Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters Principality of Monaco Sunday, 11 April 2021 Novak Djokovic Press Conference
at the moment. THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Felix is a great guy. He's someone that has hard-working Q. You obviously haven't played since Australia, ethics, which is something that is very important for Toni. I which is not a typical schedule for you. Is there any wish them all the best. It's nice to see Toni on the tour. specific adjustment you feel you need to make, Obviously he's had his mark with Rafa for so many years. I whether mentally, physically, to feel prepared for the feel like he can only bring positives to Felix's game and clay season? mindset.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, not in particularly. I have had Q. As you said, you live here. It's your everyday some periods in my career where I didn't play a tournament training camp, if I can say. How is it to see the club for maybe couple months, then came back. So, I mean, I almost as it is in your everyday life, different from the don't think there is anything special I have to do in terms of tournament usually? Will you feel different when you preparation in order for me to feel my best on the court. enter the court for your first match?
I've been training quite a lot on clay. Actually ever since I NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, it's definitely going to be a pulled out from Miami, I was hitting on clay. Here in different feeling. This club usually in a normal conditions Monte-Carlo actually where I reside with the family, it was when we have the crowd allowed to come to the convenient and feels great. tournament is transformed a lot. Right now you don't see that transformation so much. I feel physically prepared. Mentally I missed tennis last couple months that I haven't been competing. I look Usually there's a lot of courts that are being transformed forward to my first match. into a village or something like that because there is not much space, so they have to use some of the courts for It's unfortunate we don't have a crowd, but it's a common sponsor tents and stuff like this. thing nowadays. Hopefully we'll be seeing crowd very, very soon in big tournaments in Europe. Right now, as you don't have crowd, sponsor people allowed, there's more court, so it's better for training, for Q. Were you surprised at all by the news that Toni practice. In a normal circumstances, it's always tricky to Nadal is coaching Felix? Have you ever imagined get courts for a lot of players, one hour there, an hour here. Marian Vijda coaching someone else on tour while A lot of players have to share at the beginning of the you're still playing? tournament.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Hard to imagine at this moment that Right now I see most of the players are playing one-on-one Marian would be coaching someone else while I'm still without needing to share because there's plenty of room. playing. But, look, Rafa and Toni are not traveling and working together for few years now already. Toni was The positive thing about it, I was actually training with probably looking for a new challenge. Tsitsipas today, and we spoke about it with Medvedev that it's kind of nice to see that it's nice to play at home in a It honestly did not surprise me too much. I know Felix has way, because you sleep at home in your apartment, which spent quite a bit of time in the last couple years in Rafa's we allowed to do this tournament, which is great. academy training and getting an advice and mentorship from Toni when he was there. Toni probably was excited You play the tournament at the club where you usually to explore a new project, a new so to say adventure on the come to train. You still spend time outdoors walking tour with one of the best young tennis players in the world around the club, which you don't have normally opportunity
106635-1-1004 2021-04-11 15:15:00 GMT Page 1 of 3 to do because there's so many people, it's just impossible rules. ATP has put forward the protocol that we have to to walk around. Now you can actually go and check out follow in all the tournaments, regardless of the so to say some training sessions from other players or matches, just regulations of the local authorities and the governments. be outdoor on the fresh air, which is something that we are We are in so-called safe environment. I wouldn't call it a grateful for because nowadays with all the bubble and safe bubble because it's not really a bubble, but it is a safe environment and restrictions that we have to be part of on environment, so to say, where they reduce I guess the risk the tour, it's actually nice you get to have some fresh air. of transmission of the virus as much as possible. I guess all the players would not -- that large a number, you Q. I'd like to ask, since you said you have been wouldn't reach a large number of players infected that practicing always there, if you had the chance to would affect greatly the tour and the weeks to follow this practice with Jannik Sinner who could possibly be specific week and tournament. your opponent, which will be your first round? Have you seen him playing recently on TV or so? But it's great that us who are residents here have a chance to sleep at home, for sure. We have that housing option. NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I have practiced a lot with Jannik in But you have to be in the bubble and basically stay at the previous years. I haven't trained with him a lot in the home and come back, come to the tennis. I think they last year and a half because we were just not at the same have an hour allowance of exercise outdoors where you place at the same time. He's always traveling for can walk outside, but not to the crowded areas. tournaments. I'm not exactly sure, let's say, of every detail of that rule. But before that, in that period of two, three years, when he What I've told you is what I know. I just kind of got into the was a junior coming up, we trained a lot actually in Piatti's bubble, into the safe environment - sorry - today. It doesn't academy, here in Monaco, both hard courts, clay courts. change much for me anyway since I decided not to go into So I have seen his development, so to say, his trajectory, the safe environment earlier. I just did it today because I his road to where he is at the moment. wanted to be free and kind of go around and not have the restrictions. It's really impressive. He's very, very nice person. He's working really hard. He's devoted. He's got all the goods But from today anyway I'm in the tournament mode. Most that he needs in order to become a champion. He's in a of the time I'll be spending on the courts. right way. He's surrounded with very good people from tennis coach, fitness coach, physio. I know all these Q. Medvedev just said one of the reasons why he people from a long time. Riccardo was my coach the first doesn't like clay is because he gets dirty and the ball years of my professional career. He's in good hands. bounces irregular. Most players play from the baseline, not as much serve and volley. Is playing well Let's see. Obviously there is a lot of the achievements that on clay as much about kind of the mental side and I'm sure he wants to achieve in his career as he's pointing acceptance as well as the technical aspects between out. He's very ambitious. Playing finals of Miami was clay and hard courts? obviously highlight of his career so far. But I think he has been very consistent player actually. He's always playing NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yes, you're right. I think clay at least quarters or semis of the 250s or 500s. requires a lot of adjustments. Yes, the ball bounces irregular. It's quite unpredictable at times. If the courts are He has been very impressive. It seems like he's not not in a perfect state, which is normal, if you have rain, satisfied with what he has achieved so far. He wants to do wind, different conditions that can affect the condition of more, which is great to see there's the hunger in him. the court, then obviously mentally you just have to stay out there. I will use this term 'grind' mentally and physically We never faced each other in official match, so it would be more than any other surface, I would say. definitely great to play him on clay, and let's see what happens. It can be very frustrating at times because sometimes you just feel like maybe you can't make a winner, you can't Q. You said that you're now able to stay at home this make an easy point with your serve like you usually do on week, which is a unique situation. Can you expand a the other surfaces. So it requires a tactical and definitely little bit on the restrictions, what you're able and not technical adjustment. The positioning on the court has to able to do in this case? vary all the time.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, they're constantly changing the A lot of guys, including myself, who usually attacks the
106635-1-1004 2021-04-11 15:15:00 GMT Page 2 of 3 return on other faster surfaces, on clay I would probably be more optional there, maybe mix it up, go back from deep in the court, send a looping topspin, then try to get into the rally. It's a very strategic surface that requires a lot of strategic thinking and tactical adjustment, so to say.
Yes, you do get dirty (laughter). It's necessary, I guess, in order to have success on this surface.
Q. I'm wondering what you're thinking about Roland Garros pushing back the tournament for a week. Is it mattering for your schedule? Do you think it was the right move? What are your thoughts?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: It's hard to say, I mean, whether it was a right move or not. I'm not in the French Federation or the French government to understand what is going on in Paris, what are the reasons for that.
Obviously these are the things that we just have to accept and kind of move on, hoping that the tournament will be played in the end of the day. That's what we want.
Last year was also quite specific because they moved it to October. It was cold, it was the first time that we got to play French Open in those particular conditions. This time it's going to be moved only for a week.
As I understood, one of the main reasons is because there might be a loosening of the restrictions so that the crowd allowance percentage will grow. Hopefully that will happen.
Every time you move any tournament for a week, I mean, particularly a Grand Slam, it messes up with the calendar and the schedule. That's going to be a big challenge for ATP. Every time you make that kind of a call, you have to see how that impacts the entire tour.
It affects many tournaments and many weeks, not just in that particular week, but also what's coming up between French and Wimbledon, the first week of grass courts.
It's tough to say what is right, what is wrong. From Grand Slam, from their perspective, it was obviously right call because they're thinking about themselves. Then the ATP Tour, their tournaments are going to suffer because of that. It's hard to say what is right, what is wrong.
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